Exactly what is the all new Lightning connector?
Released at the press conference disclosing the iPhone 5 and 2012 iPod lineup, the proprietary Lightning connector replaces the 30-pin connector located on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod from 2003. Like the 30-pin port, the Lightning port is put to use for recharging the unit like well as syncing content and files and audio and video output. The fresh units included a USB 2.0-to-Lightning cable.

Exactly how is it different from the 30-pin connector?
It’s 80 per-cent smaller but tougher, and it’s reversible, so you don’t have to fret about in which side is certainly the top or perhaps bottom the minute you hook up. Apple likewise shares it’s an all-digital, eight-signal design a certain matches to just what the signals have to be actually with regards to the accessory you’re hooked up to.

Which products will it be really put to use on?
The Lightning connector is made use of for the iPhone 5, the fifth-generation iPod touch, and seventh-generation iPod Nano. Since it is part of Apple’s port/connector solution along with Thunderbolt, it will likely be the connector for iOS products for the foreseeable future, so look for to check it out on the fourth-generation iPad and additional future products.

Does this mean I can’t make use of some of my outdated charging and docking devices along with the new iPhone and iPods?
You may not have the capacity to be connected straight to almost anything that uses a 30-pin adapter. Nonetheless, adapters are accessible that modify a 30-pin adapter in order to a Lightning port. With the adapter you get help for analog audio output, USB audio, and also syncing and charging. (According to Macworld, there is a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) in the adapter.).

The adapter does not support video output and not all 30-pin equipments will be sustained, either, so you may still need order brand-new reliant make use of with the iPhone 5 and 2012 iPods. One other quality, iPod Out, which in turn offers specific phones just like car stereos iPod-like navigation of your music collection is also not supported. The adapter is somewhat big as well, therefore any sort of components in which suit around the unit probably will likely not perform.

What exactly kind of adapters will be available, and just how much would they cost?
A 30-pin connector to-Lightning adapter is easily available from Apple for $29. Also available is a $39 7.8-inch cable with a Lightning connector at some end and 30-pin adapter port at the other. Lightning to USB 2.0 cables will cost $19.

Apple will also sell HDMI and VGA adapters for Lightning. A Micro-USB to Lightning adapter will be offered in Europe. And you can of course anticipate a full collection of 3rd party adapters to become readily available, too.

Are there any future-proof accessories I can shop for to try to keep this from transpiring again?
There are always intending to be decorations that demand using the connector and very little is ever going to be actually 100 percent future-proof. Nevertheless, as Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller identified when providing Lightning, a lot of what we do now is cordless. Whenever practical, take advantage of devices that make use of Bluetooth or Apple’s AirPlay. Bear in mind, as well, the 30-pin adapter was really around for roughly a many years, so chances are good you’ll be safe for the next several years with Lightning add-ons.